Former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), who is running against Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) in an attempt to reclaim her former seat in Congress, posed for a photo with Guy Christensen, an anti-Israel influencer who defended the Capital Jewish Museum shooting, in which two Israeli Embassy employees were murdered.

Christensen, on TikTok, lauded Elias Rodriguez, who has been indicted for the D.C. shooting, encouraging his followers to support the alleged gunman, characterizing the shooting as “justified” and an “act of resistance,” and urging his followers to respond with “greater resistance and escalation.”

“I do not condemn the elimination of those two Zionist officials,” Christensen said on social media at the time of the shooting. “[Rodriguez] is not a terrorist. He’s a resistance fighter. And the fact is that the fight against Israel’s war machine, against their genocide machine, against their criminality, includes their foreign diplomats in this country and internationally.”

The Ohio State University expelled Christensen over the video and TikTok removed it.

The influencer posted a photo last week from what appears to be a recent American Muslims for Palestine conference — Christensen is wearing an AMP lanyard and speaker badge — alongside a smiling Bush, with the caption “We’re coming for you AIPAC.”

AMP held its annual Palestine Convention last week in Illinois.

AMP has been sued by victims of Hamas for alleged ties to the terror group, describing AMP as an “alter ego” of a now-defunct group that was shuttered for providing financial support to Hamas. 

It is under investigation by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for its activities on college campuses — Students for Justice in Palestine grew out of AMP — and the House Ways and Means Committee urged the Internal Revenue Service to revoke its tax exempt status.

The Virginia attorney general is also investigating the group, a probe which led a Virginia judge to order the group to turn over closely held financial documents. And the New Jersey branch of the group is being sued by the Department of Justice.

Bush’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. She has made her criticism of Israel and other extremist stances a centerpiece of her campaign.

Elsewhere, Michael Blake, a former assemblyman running in the Democratic primary against Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), faced backlash from major New York Jewish groups and local rabbis for featuring a clip of Christensen in a launch video for his campaign against Torres. Blake later apologized.

Major New York Jewish groups criticized former Assemblyman Michael Blake, who is running in the Democratic primary against Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), for featuring a clip of an influencer who supported the shooting of two Israeli Embassy employees at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington in his campaign launch video.

Blake’s video features a short clip from a social media video posted by Guy Christensen, an anti-Israel activist, accusing Torres of “investing in genocide,” one of the first clips in the video. 

Christensen praised the alleged D.C. shooter, Elias Rodriguez, urging his followers to support Rodriguez and describing his “act of resistance” as “justified” and to respond with “greater resistance and escalation” in the face of a potential crackdown against the anti-Israel movement.

“I do not condemn the elimination of those two Zionist officials,” Christensen said on social media at the time of the shooting. “[Rodriguez] is not a terrorist. He’s a resistance fighter. And the fact is that the fight against Israel’s war machine, against their genocide machine, against their criminality, includes their foreign diplomats in this country and internationally.”

Christensen was expelled from The Ohio State University for the video, which was taken down by TikTok.

In a statement, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York condemned Blake’s video, both for featuring Christensen and for its use of other antisemitic tropes.

“Hurling a bus load of antisemitic tropes and platforming bigots who cheer antisemitic violence in a launch video is not the pro-humanity flex one thinks it is. In the backdrop of rising hate, this only deepens division, further inflames an already inflammatory climate in New York, and makes us all less safe,” the group said in a statement.

The Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey focused its criticism specifically on the Christensen clip.

“No matter what your views are on the candidates or the issues, we can all agree that Michael Blake’s platforming of anti-Zionist influencer Guy Christensen should be roundly condemned,” the group said. “Christensen is an activist who regularly touts Hamas and promotes antisemitic ideas, and he defended the shooter that left two dead at the Jewish Museum this past spring.”

UJA-Federation of New York said in a statement, “We strongly condemn any use of antisemitic vitriol and those who promote it to attack opponents.”

“Regardless of beliefs, actively platforming Guy Christensen, who regularly shares antisemitic ideas and pro-Hamas rhetoric — in addition to defending the heinous antisemitic shooting in Washington, DC, this spring — is absolutely unacceptable,” UJA continued.

Blake apologized in a statement, issued late Monday after a group of local rabbis also joined the chorus of criticism.

“I unequivocally denounce the murder and celebration of the two young Israeli embassy staffers, as stated in my May 22nd, 2025 post on X, and I apologize for any pain our campaign video caused any member of the Jewish community by including someone who condoned this horrific event,” Blake said. “Just as I would for anyone targeted for the color of their skin, faith, or identity, I stand firmly against all acts of hate and violence. I am focused on the Cost of Living and Affordability crisis impacting all of the district, where Ritchie Torres’ actions have failed, along with continuing to address Antisemitism, Anti-Muslim hate, Housing and Immigration. We deserve better than Ritchie Torres.”